who do i write like?

Posted by Beng on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 0 comments
My sister found this site that "analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers".  So I spent my entire lunch break copy pasting 40 blog entries of mine for analysis.  Below are the results:

Author Number of Entries
Charles Dickens 1
Chuck Palahniuk 1
Cory Doctorow 12
Dan Brown 2
David Foster Wallace 1
Gertrude Stein 1
J.K. Rowling 1
James Joyce 5
Kurt Vonnegut 2
Margaret Atwood 4
Raymond Chandler 1
Stephen King 6
Vladimir Nabokov 3

Funny though that these are the authors I don't read.  Maybe I should start reading them.  What do you think?  For now, I'll follow him on Twitter


(Oh and just in case you are curious, this entry is another Cory Doctorow.)

Rainy Day Bag

Posted by Beng on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 0 comments
*image from Getty Images
The rainy season has finally begun and I need start gearing up for it.  And I don't just mean remembering to bring an umbrella.

First order of business: pack the "rainy day" bag.

Okay so I'm probably one of the most paranoid people you will ever know.  (I can see my sister almost losing her head from nodding over this tiny factoid)  When the rain starts to pour or if I see that there is little chance the sun will show it's pretty self, I make sure that my rainy day bag is in the car.

This bag has the following items:

1) change of clothes just in case i need to crash somewhere.  This would mean PJs, clothes for the following day, undies,etc.  And because I am paranoid, i sometimes bring clothes good for two days.  :D

2) toiletries - just in case i need to crash somewhere that does not provide shampoo or soap.

3) a small towel

4) socks just in case it's cold

*Looks at the list* I think i shall add a small blanket.  :D

One of my mottoes in life:  The paranoid survives. :P

Organic Detergent

Posted by manilagirl on Thursday, April 29, 2010 0 comments
I have to admit that laundry detergents are among the common household items that I buy on auto pilot.  Whenever Nards tells me we need detergent while we're at the supermarket, we'd head to the household cleaners aisle and get two to three refills.  I knew at that time that it was a major water pollutant that kills plants and fish, and that it contains harsh chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive disorders.

At a kiosk in Trinoma that sells organic and green items where I get my Messy Bessy stuff, I finally found locally made organic detergent.  They carried three brands, but I was told that Plantex Green was the best.  It comes in 1kg boxes at Php125 each.  I think it's a tad bit more expensive that the usual commercial brands, but it's a small price to pay for the sake of Mother Earth and good health.

So far, I like it!  It cleans clothes well, and they come out delicately fragrant.  It's economical too, because I use slightly less per load as I normally do with our previous brand.

It's now a staple on our grocery list.  I hope you can add it to yours.

Top Chef Masters

Posted by manilagirl on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 0 comments
I am very picky about the reality shows I watch because I despise drama especially contrived drama that they air for the sake of ratings.  Although I do tolerate the drama if it's interesting enough.

I'm so happy that my sister introduced me to Top Chef Masters. This show gives me my reality TV fix sans the drama. It's basically your Top Chef, except the contenders are renowned and accomplished chefs.  There is still a cash price, but the amount is donated to the charity of their choice.  Here the tables are turned: these chefs are given the same challenges that they judged on Top Chef, and sometimes their dishes are evaluated by the contestants whom they assessed in the original show.  They feature celebrity judges that are so much fun to watch.  And the dishes!!  It puts the ones produced in the original show to shame.  (Never watch this on an empty stomach.)

I honestly don't know who to root for.  All the contenders are experts in the culinary world.  They have respect and mutual admiration for each other. 

I have to admit my favorite among all of them is Chef Hubert Keller. He's the most accomplished among the lot, and has the most cheerful disposition despite the frustrating challenges they receive.  Everyone is in awe of him and wants to work with him.


Top Chef Masters is currently on it's second season and airs on Bravo TV.  Locally, it airs on Wednesdays at 10PM on 2nd Avenue.

Online Strips

Posted by Beng on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 0 comments
I am an avid fan of online comics.  For some reason, I feel that comic strips are not worth buying unless it's a graphic novel or it's Calvin and Hobbes.  Right now I am following two comics that are completely different from each other.


(Piled Higher and Deeper) PHD Comics
(updated 2-3 times a week)

Reminds me so much when I was studying for my Compre.













I stumbled upon this a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't stop reading simply because I could relate to it.  It reminded me of the days when I was taking my Masters degree in UP; of my jobs that were funded by government/international agencies; of the days my sister was still with a consultancy firm and was also teaching.

My sister kindly gave me a link about the creator of this strip. I am impressed with his resume.  Truly a brilliant mind with a great sense of humor. 


Freak Angels
(updated every Monday, US-time)

I can't remember how I came to know about this strip.  But with this first panel, I was hooked.  There is just something about it that made me read through.

The strip focuses on 12 people who share some kind of power.  It tells the story of how they help rebuild the world they actually destroyed.

Apart from it's unpredictable story, I love the artwork of this comic.  Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield make an amazing pair as seen in their work in Freak Angels.

Earth Hour 2010

Posted by manilagirl on Friday, March 26, 2010 0 comments


Looking for something to do for Earth Hour? Check out this link of Top Ways to Spend Earth Hour 2010.

Read it later

Posted by Beng on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 0 comments
One of the nifty things I found in FireFox is this add on:  Read it Later


This thing is just great. It allows me to postpone reading to another time without having to add it to my bookmarks.  :)  I can just go back to it anytime unless I mark it as read then it will no longer appear in my list.

As a plus, if you get an account, you can access your reading list from different computers as long as it has the Read it Later add-on in the browser.  I love this especially there are certain types of sites that are blocked at the office, like video streaming. So when i stumble upon any blocked site I just add it to my read it later list and I open them when I'm out of the office. :)

Aside from FireFox, it also works for other browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome and Safari.  They even have this available for iPhone and blackberry (not that i own either of those. :p)  If you are the type who's stuck in a place with restricted net access for the better part of the day, this is one great add-on to your browser.
 

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